River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1887-01-27
Curiosities Of the Thimble.


CuriOsities of the Thimble.
''There-is a rich family of the name
ot Lofting in England. :" said dealer in
fancy articles. '.the fortune of whose
house was founded by such an apparent
~ insignificant little thing As the
,himble. Two hundred years ago
thimbles were unknown in England.
The thimble is claimed by the Dutch as
an invention of that country, but it /,
known now that il was in use BY the
silk embroiderers Of China hundreds OF
wears before il was used elsewhere.
The first thimble ever seen in England
was made in London less than two hun
dred wears ago by a metal-worker named
John Letting. the founder of the family
named. The usefulness OF the article
commended il a, once TO all who used
the needle, and LOfting acquired Il
large fortune aud great fame in the
manufacture of the new accessory to
the needle-worker' art. TIL I'M
PIGMENT was called the thumb Jell, il
being worn on the thumb
when in use. This clumsy mode
of utilizing it was soon changed.
however but when and why the name
of thimble was given the article does
not appear. Lettings thimbleS, and, in
fact, all thimbles, were made either of
iron or brass. and specimens of them
extant, many of which are preserved a
heirlooms. are crude and clumsy-look-
ing things compared with the common
est thimble of to-day, although their
cost was many times a. much.
To-day gold, silver, iron, ivory.
steel, sometimes glass. and even pearl
and celluloid are utilized in making
thimbles. Since art needle-wOrk became
the fashionable craze in this country
thimbles of most elaborate workman
ship and great value, to accompany the
rich and costly implements and mate.i-
ais wealthy needle-workerS atiect. have
found a large sale, Solid gold thim-
bles, elegantly carved and frequently
set with uidmords, have been found
none too good for many of our fashion
bic home decorations. Thimbles to be
made to order. wish the Monogram or
initials of the person for whom they
| are intended set in precious stones
are not by any means unknown 0tJetS
4 art, in the fa>hioning of which the
skill of our artistic metal workers Is
taxed. | know rich young lady OF
this town whose enthusiasm for art
needlework was so great wear ago
that nothing but a gold and diamond
set thimble that cost 500, with other
embroidcring implements to match.
would enable her TO reproduce those
! fearful and wonderful buttercupS,
daisies, aud bluebclls that one see,
blooming in prodigal profusiou OH foot
stools. banner. tides, and burea-cover>
/ in all homes of culture and refinement.
/ I'm China the ladies of high class
are very dainty of their thimbles.
I Some are carved from enormous pearls,
with bands OF fine gold, on which are
engraved all sorts of fantastic things.
\ the etchings of which serve for catch
/ ing the needle a. the holes of the out
side barbarian thimbles do, The Thin
I bic always has a mother-of-pearl case.
! With the thimble the Chinese lady al
ways has delicate pair Of scissors of
the finest steel, in a sheath of pearl,
and a pearl necdle-case. The articles
are all incloSed in an eXquisitely inlaid
case of the purest mother-of-pearl. A
New York lady, whose husband was in
the China trade. has one Of these
Chinese ncedle-work kits. so to speak,
which she values at $4,000.
The way thimbles are made in thi,
country and England is simple enough.
Dies of the different sizes are used, into
which the metal, whether gold, silver
or steel, is pressed. The hole-punch-
ing, finishing. and polishing or temper
ing are done afterward Ce'luloid Is
nodded. The best thimbleS are made
in France, where the process j. more
thorough. Strange a it may seem. the
French consider durability in their GOLD
thimbles a. the first requisite. The
first step in the making of a Paris gold
thi9ble is the cutting into a disk of the
desired size a thin piece of ~hcet-iToH
This is heated to a red heat placed over
a graduated hole in an iron bench aud
hammered down into il with punch.
This hole is the form of the thimble
Thus formed il i removed from the
hole. the little indentatiOnS to keep the
needle from slipping are made in it.and
all the other finishing strokes Of the
thimble' form put on il, The iron is
then made into steel by a process Pc
culiar to the French thimble-makcr, i
tempered, polished. and brought TO u
deep blue color. A thin sheet Of gold
is then pressed into the interior of the
thimble and fastened there by man
drill Gold leaf is attached To the out
side by great pressure. the edges Of the
leaf being fitted in and held by small
grooves at the base of the thimhlr. The
article is then ready for use. The gold
can be readily replaced at any time.
Nowhere else in the world are gold
thimbleS made in that way.
Il have heard of many curious Thin
blcs The queen Of Siam has one
which was a present from her royal
husband. The thimble has never been
in use in Siam until few years ago.
when the king. noticing English and
American ladies wishing his court using
thimbles, had one made for his queen.
1t Is made Of gold in the form Of 10
tus bud, the lotus being the royal
flower, and i thickly studded with
diamonds 20 arranged as to form her
name and date of her marriage This
presentation was equal to an order
that the ladies of Siam should Use
thimbleS, and they have used them ever
since. a lady in Boston has thimble
made from a piece of wood taken from
the old Washington elm at Cambridge,
the tree under which Washington stood
when he took the oath as commander
in-chief in 1875. The wife OF well
known clergyman Of neighboring city
has thimble carved from a peculiar
stone she found on the shore of the
Dead sea. A lady in this city has one
made from asphaltum, with which the
sacred fires Of Persia are built. -Ne1C
York Sun
Fidelity ola Dog.